Biathlon: more fear than harm for Sturla Holm Lægreid
In 2021, Andrejs Rastorgujevs was banned from the international biathlon circuits for eighteen months after failing to take three doping tests in one year. Sturla Holm Lægreid could also have been severely punished had he not taken matters into his own hands.
Indeed, two seasons ago, the Norwegian was called to order by the authorities for sending in his compulsory quarterly report late. Today, all top-level sports must indicate where they are in order to be subject to unannounced checks.
After three breaches of this rule, athletes are logically suspended. Fortunately, the current world number one in his discipline didn’t get that far. But the warning he received has forced him to be more conscientious about this type of process.
“I thought I’d sent in my report, but I discovered around 1 January that I hadn’t done so. Afterwards, I quickly did it. But as I realised one day too late, I received a warning,” he tells NRK. These things happen, but fortunately it was a one-off.
It was a wake-up call that the Scandinavian doesn’t want to relive : “So I redoubled my caution for the rest of the year. Now that the warning is out of the way, it’s great,” he says with relief. It’s news that has caused a stir in the Nordic kingdom, in a global context where the arrangement between tennis player Jannik Sinner and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is viewed very unfavourably.
“It can happen to anyone”.Eric Perrot at NRK
When asked about this after Sturla Holm Lægreid‘s revelations, Frenchman Eric Perrot didn’t condemn his opponent. “It’s hard to have to submit reports for every day you’re supposed to be there. It can happen to anyone,” he says . Of course, it’s a bit of a shame when it does happen because there can be suspicions against him.”
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